stumble to your ivory tower
by replaytoday
Summary: he won't let anything stop him from tripping over his feet to get to his singing princess


**i.**

Finn realizes he's not a white knight in anybody's tale.

He's aware he's not the brightest guy around so his armor is kind of dull. Probably a little dented too cause he's always stumbling around - figuratively and literally. And most likely an off-white since, you know, his morals have been known to be a little... sketchy. But he doesn't let any of that stop him. He won't let anything stop him from tripping over his feet to get to his singing princess.

Even the singing princess.

* * *

><p><strong>ii.<strong>

His first attempt ends up going badly. Like really bad.

He ends up rambling for like five minutes about why they _shouldn't_ be together and how she freaked him the hell out at first and she runs off with tears in her eyes before he can get to how he doesn't care about any of that. And how he kinda, sorta, really likes how crazed, obsessive, focused she can get because the passion in her eyes really sparks something in his chest and it's just _her._ And he really likes all things Rachel Berry. Especially her smiles. Gosh, he really loves her smiles. And could he be the cause of them again?

Answer: No.

Maybe, _hell no_.

Though he thinks the stupidest thing he probably did - and, man, did he say some really stupid things - was just standing there, watching her run away from him, her footsteps echoing in the hallway.

* * *

><p><em>"When we first met, I thought you were going to go all Swimfan on me-"<em>

_"Swimfan?"_

_"You know that movie about this guy that has this girl stalker. She goes like completely crazy on him. Stalks him and stuff. Totally insane."_

* * *

><p><strong>iii.<strong>

After the weekend and three days, he finally corners her which is somewhat of a miracle. She's small and surprisingly agile - would make a great running back, he thinks and seeing her in a jersey would be kind of hot - and her tiny form can dart through openings in the crowded hallways that his lumbering frame just can't fit through.

"Hey, Rachel!" He catches her arm right before she can dart out the entrance of the school. "Wait up. Please."

She turns towards him and he notices how tense and straight her shoulders look. And he's reasonably sure she's staring at his forehead. It's kind of hard to tell when she has to crane her head back to look at him. "Hello, Finn."

He doesn't waste any time. Rachel appreciates straightforwardness. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. Or call you crazy or anything like that. I wanted to tell you how awesome you are and how much I really appreciate you being there for me. I just got nervous."

She frowns. "Nervous?"

"Yeah, cause you're, you know, you. And I promised you I would make it up to you so I knew it just had to be perfect."

The first flickers of hope appear when a small smile tugs at her lips. "Didn't quite go as planned, did it?"

His grin is one of relief. "Not at all."

Her bubbly laughter finally lets the smile bloom on her face and Finn just stands there letting her laugh at him, soaking it up, and he's pretty sure he's willing to be the source of her amusement a million times over if it means she'll look at him with that warm look in her eye.

"You're awesome," he can't help but say.

She sobers after a few moments but laughter still colors her voice when she says, "Thank you."

"Can I walk you home?"

"I would like that."

He carries her book, and when she smiles softly to herself during the walk, he thinks he can actually be pretty smooth sometimes.

* * *

><p>"You're, like, really short."<p>

"Yes, I'm well aware. Thank you."

"And that guy had a point when he called me a frankenteen."

"Is there something you are trying to say?"

"Not really. It's like we, uh... complement each other. Did I use that right?"

"Perfect."

"See, we make a great team."

* * *

><p><strong>iv.<strong>

He gets her a kitten because... it sounded like a good idea at the time.

His neighbor's cat just had a litter and asked if he knew anyone that would be interested. The puff of a furball was small, cute, and Finn figured _why not?_ Girls like small things to cuddle. Plus, he was still feeling kind of guilty about his foot-in-the-mouth moment.

He drives over to her house with the little furball in tow, giddy smile in place. And it isn't until he's knocked and she's ushered him up into her bedroom that Finn tells her why he came.

"Look, Rach," he says as he turns to watch her finish shutting her door. Once she looks at him, he reaches into the pouch pocket of his hoodie and carefully pulls out the little bundle which easily fits into the cupped palms of his hands.

He's instantly rewarded with the smile he adores and an enthusiastic "Aww, she's precious, Finn" as Rachel rushes forward. He smiles proudly to himself as he watches her fuss over the kitten because this was a totally awesome idea and she doesn't even know the part that makes it _really awesome_ and, like, meant to be. Which is totally a sign they are meant to be. Or a metaphor. Cause they're important.

"Wait. You haven't even seen the best part yet. Look," He turns the kitten, adjusting it so Rachel can see right there on the side of the kitten's soft, white fur, the black patch of fur in the rough shape of a star. "I thought of you."

"How sweet," she hums, barely taking her eyes off the kitten and, yep, totally awesome idea. "What are you going to name her?"

Wait, what?

"W-what? I don't know how to raise a kitten."

"And you came to me for help? Though I've never had a kitten myself, I'm reasonably sure I could help you. I would love one myself but daddy doesn't like cats after the great scratching incident of '05."

He blinks.

Crap on a cracker.

"You should probably start with the basics. Bed, toys, litter box, and all that. Does she have a food dish? And what food are you planning to feed her? Though maybe a vet would have recommendations. You have scheduled an appointment, yes? It's very important not to neglect her health."

And that's how ends up with a kitten and a room full of new cat supplies thanks to Rachel's trip to PetSmart.

* * *

><p>"Mary?"<p>

"Abbie?"

"Gwen?"

"Lilly?"

"Rogue?"

"Haley?"

"Electra?"

"... are you picking names from comic books?"

"... maybe."

* * *

><p><strong>v.<strong>

"You know you're my best friend, right?"

She blinks, looking up from her sheet music to stare at him with a blank expression. A beat passes but then suddenly her eyes are filling up with tears and _how_ did that happen? Was that the wrong thing to say? He thought that was a great thing to say. Maybe a way to start a conversation about how much she means to him. And how he wants them to be more but if she's crying at the idea of them being friends then he's screwed. So very screwed it's not even funny-

Finn lets out a little _oomph_ as Rachel throws her arms around his neck. Cautiously, he pats her back, still partly worried that he's done something incredibly stupid.

"That's a good thing, right?"

She pulls back and lets out a watery laugh. "Of course."

"But you looked like you were going to cry."

"I was just overwhelmed."

His eyes narrow slightly, trying to make sure he's got it all worked out. "So, those were happy tears?"

She chuckles, before nodding with emphasis. "_Yes_."

He grins. "Just making sure."

This time when she hugs him, he wraps his own arms around her middle, giving her an enthusiastic squeeze that causes her to squeal.

* * *

><p>"What's your biggest, deepest, darkest secret?"<p>

"Excuse me?"

"Well, we're supposed to be best friends now. You can tell me this stuff."

"A girl is entitled to her secrets."

"You're no fun."

"And you're nosey."

"I just want you to feel like you can trust me."

"There's no one I trust more."

"Really? Cool."

* * *

><p><strong>vi.<strong>

He really wants to blame Mr. Schue for his next fumble on his mishap adventures of wooing Rachel Berry. It was his stupid need to "foster relations" with rival glee clubs, throw in one charity event, random pairing with another club - and wouldn't you know it? Vocal Adrenaline - and bam! Disaster for Finn. Except he knows the blame is all on his shoulders. This has to be his worst bumble yet. Because who seriously basically shoves the girl of his dreams together with another guy?

Mr. Schue and Vocal Adrenaline's coach, Ms. Corcoran, both thought it would be a good idea to give a small performance each. Rachel told him it was because they wanted to "evaluate our abilities to best utilize our talent to create the most satisfying performance possible". He had just blinked at her when she said that and she had smiled, placing her hand on his arm, and told him it was like try-outs, do his best to impress the coach.

He didn't say it but he thought he would do a better job if he was trying to impress her.

And if that's the case then he totally failed her. It started out great. He was less flaily with the steps, maybe a little smooth even, but it all fell apart in the second half. Usually his eyes are always glued to her when they perform - and, okay, maybe his eyes would always find an excuse to wander over to her, straying her way to steal glances - because it was like an electric current when they sang, their eyes would connect and the thrill shooting up his spine would multiply, but he had snuck a glance at the seats, wanting to make sure he was going to land being Rachel's male lead.

A mistake. A very big mistake.

In the middle of a step his eyes had slid away from Mr. Schue's slight smile and the pinched face of Ms. Corcoran's - maybe she was thinking really hard? - to Vocal Adrenaline. One smiling face in particular caught his attention, almost causing Finn to miss landing his step, when he realized the guy's appreciative smile was aimed at Rachel. For the rest of the number he was distracted by the curly haired punk, stumbling through his steps. The guy didn't even try to hide his admiration. It most definitely qualified as what Santana called eyesex.

And that's how he finds himself next to Rachel, shifting uncomfortable in his seat, as Vocal Adrenaline begins their performance. Within a few seconds it becomes obvious that the curly haired punk is the male lead and the jerk doesn't take his eyes off Rachel. Finn doesn't know how the guy does it while pulling off those complex steps. If it was him, Finn's sure he would have fallen off the stage. What he does _not_ like is how the punk is basically singing to Rachel. It's like Puck serenading Rachel all over again. Taking a chance and with much dread, he glances at Rachel, trying to gauge her reaction.

Someone just needs to shoot him and put him out of his misery.

_Of course_ she's smiling. It's small like she's trying to hide which kind of makes it worse actually. Must mean she's really impressed by the punk because why else do you fight a smile? Only when you really like something and don't want to show it for some reason (or when someone falls on their face and you're trying not to be mean but Finn doesn't think that's the case). And her _eyes_. Finn wouldn't be surprised if light beams full of her sparkly stars shoots out. It's selfish as hell but Finn can't help but want all her pride for himself.

This guy blows him out of the water all around and much like the feeling in gut, he sinks further down in his seat. And can the number be over already? He gets it. He sucks. Rachel's way too good for him. She deserves someone like the pretty boy punk. All the practice and determination in the world wouldn't get him anywhere near that guy's level.

Finally the torture session ends and New Direction joins Vocal Adrenaline onstage while Mr. Schue and Ms. Corcoran huddle together. Curly haired punk wastes no time and makes a beeline for Rachel, crossing the invisible line that divides the two Glee clubs.

"You're incredible."

"Thank you," she says, voice as peppy and full as usual, but Finn's guts twist when he notice she's blushing. He's shifts on his feet next to her, feeling like he should step away but unwillingly to do so. "I was quite impressed myself by your performance."

Mr. Awesome merely flashes her a smile in response and Finn's palms itch to curl into fists that he can send into the jerk's perfect white teeth. He does not at all like the gleam in the other boy's eyes. And a quick glance in Rachel's way and the twisting in his gut seems to bottom out as his stomach drops. And Finn's starting to get the funny feeling that he isn't something special and is actually replaceable. He just happened to be the first boy to come along that could sing.

"I'm Jesse by the way."

Finn prefers curly haired punk.

"Rachel."

Finn doesn't think he can take anymore of this standing around as the unintentional third wheel and is about to clear his throat when Mr. Schue hops up on stage with a clap.

"Okay, guys! Ms. Corcoran and I," he gestures to his co-director, "have decided."

"Rachel," Ms. Corcoran calls and Finn thinks he sees a hint of a smile which Finn thinks is pretty impressive. She's only mostly glowered at New Directions. "We would love for you to take the female lead."

A proud smile blooms across Rachel's face and Finn feels his own lips tugging in kind. He just can't help himself. They're infectious or something. Maybe he's addicted to them.

He watches her practically bounce forward to accept the sheet music. "Thank you, Mr. Schue, Ms. Corcoran."

"As for the male lead," Mr. Schue cuts a quick glance in his direction and _crap_. There's like an apology wrapped in guilt there. "Jesse... St. James is it? Here's the sheet music."

Even if he was expecting it, Finn can't help the dread that creates like a sucking feeling in the middle of his chest as he watches Jesse accept the sheet music. It's not so much that he isn't the male lead, it's that he's not _Rachel's_ lead. That was always _their_ thing. Even when he was still with Quinn when he was singing with Rachel it was like he was hers, even for just a little while, but it was short and perfect. And now he's actively trying to be _hers_ and failing spectacularly. He's such a loser.

"Oh," Rachel says in a small voice and she turns to glance nervously at him, bottom lip firmly between her teeth. With determination, she turns back to their coaches. "No disrespect to your decisions - Jesse is a wonderful performer - but Finn and I-"

Hot anger bubbles suddenly in Finn's chest. He's a loser, fine, whatever, but the way she lingered on him, trying to gauge his reaction pisses Finn off for some reason. He doesn't need her pity too. It makes him feel like he did around Sectionals when everyone tiptoed around him like he was going to break. She never did though and he liked that, small talk with her didn't make him feel small and broken like the little kid he use to be. But being faced with it now makes red flash across his vision.

"It's fine, Rachel," he cuts her off. He tries to restrain himself but his words are a little sharper than usual. "No big deal."

Her brow wrinkles and now she talks to him like he's the one she has to convince. "Finn, we work very well together as a team. It's one of our greatest strengths-"

"Like you said, Jesse is an impressive singer. I'm sure you'll guys work together just as great."

"Yes but Finn-"

"Mr. Schue wants us to get along with the other team and you're like the best bet at that right? We all know how you can get when a guy sings."

Instantly, he know he's done bad. The hurt only flashes in her eye briefly but it's enough to feel like a sucker punch to the gut. She levels him with one of those scary chick glares, the ones that are somehow blanked face yet full of rage, before turning away from him sharply. He wishes he could stuff the words back down his mouth and not be an idiot for once and _think_. Half-heartedly he tries to catch her eye but she refuses to look at him.

"Ah, that's a good idea actually, Finn," Mr. Schue says nervously, the attempt to shake off the discomfort obvious. "Mix and match the groups. Let's get some team effort going here."

For the rest of practice, they're paired off with a member of the opposite team - sometimes two Vocal Adrenaline members for every New Direction member - and Finn tries not to sulk too much on how much of a fool he is. His partner - Kate, he thinks - is good. Not Rachel good though. Finn doesn't think anyone can be as good as Rachel. Or pretty. Especially when she smiles. She's real pretty when she smiles.

Finn finds himself grinning at the thought and he looks over to Rachel. She's practicing with Jesse, smiling when he twirls her out before spinning her back into his chest, the stupid jerk's smile also firmly in place. Remembering the crap place it landed him last time - seriously, how whipped does it make him if he's miserable from being ignored by Rachel during one rehearsal? - Finn shoves down his jealously and replaces it with determination. He's going to fix this.

And that's the exact thing he does the second Ms. Corcoran calls for the end of practice. He makes straight for her, not bothering with the stairs and hopping off the stage because she's already half-way up the aisle and heading for the bus they arrived here on.

"Hey, Rachel," he says, reaching out and capturing her elbow gently. He takes it as a good sign when she allows him to pull her off to the side instead of stomping on his foot and flouncing away like he knows she could. "Sorry about earlier. I was a jerk."

She doesn't budge. "Yes, you were."

"A really big, insecure jerk."

Nothing but silence. Okay so she's going to make him work for it this time. It's only fair he guesses. And he does want to date her. Not just get in her pants or anything so the feelings stuff is going to have to start eventually. Still, he's not Mr. Eloquent - Finn found a dictionary to be necessary for Rachel - and they're not exactly by themselves. Awkward.

He scrubs his face with his hand and looks down. "I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't want it seem like a big deal that I didn't get the lead." Realizing what he said, Finn's head shoots up and he panics to continue. "Not that it wasn't! Cause it was. Singing with you is like the best thing ever, Rach. I just didn't want anyone else to know that."

Hurt flickers over her face and Finn just wants to go slam his face into the wall. _This_ is why he doesn't talk that much. Nothing ever comes out right. Great, now she thinks he's embarrassed of her. It doesn't help that he's screwed her over before for his reputation. God, he wishes she could see how he doesn't give a damn anymore. He just wants to be happy. And he's realized Rachel Berry is kind of the key to that.

"No, not like that, Rach. I didn't mean it like that. I just... didn't want it to be like Sectionals where everyone knew I lost something and all I got was pity for weeks." He chuckles awkwardly, hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Except I kind of blew it out of proportion. It's just this one time thing for charity. It sucks and all but it's not like I won't get another shot to sing with you or anything." He's such a dork and nervous. She hasn't said anything. Did he not make sense? Say something wrong again? She doesn't exactly look mad anymore. Maybe he should keep talking. "I'm really happy you got the solo by the way."

"Thank you," she says and Finn can't tell a thing from her tone where they stand.

"What can I do to make this up to you?" he pushes. He's going to make this right. He is.

"Nothing."

He can feel his face fall. Oh god, he can't believe he screwed this up before it even began. But he can't just give up. Half-baked thoughts of boomboxes, and flowers, standing up on a table in the middle of the cafeteria and shouting he lo-likes her flash through his mind.

Her impish smile halts his panicked thoughts and he cocks his head to the side, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Is she just screwing with him? Yep. She is. He can tell when she smiles fully at him, releasing the tension from his shoulders.

"We're friends, Finn," she laughs at him. "We're not always going to be perfect. Forgive and move on."

He shakes his head. "There's got to be something I can do."

"Just don't do it again."

"I think I can do that," he smiles.

With her grinning up at him like that, warm and open, he can't help but want to hug her. So he does. Grateful not to be facing her cold shoulder anymore. She simply ignores him when she's angry, doesn't use cutting words like Quinn use to, but Finn thinks it's worse. He couldn't wait to get away from an angry Quinn but he misses Rachel's warm presence when she's not near his side. And that means something right?

Holding her in that moment, he decides without a doubt it does. And despite a few seconds ago, Finn doesn't feel scared to use the word love anymore. It actually makes him feel bigger, like fuller or something, grown up in a way he's never quite felt before. He's in love with Rachel Berry. And maybe this is it. Maybe he should just finally kiss her and hope she feels the same.

Yeah. So doesn't happen.

Right when he pulls back is when the pretty boy jerk comes up. Finn bets he was just waiting to swoop in.

"Hey, Rachel," he smiles and Finn wants to narrow his eyes at the way the other boys talks with an easy familiarity. If Puck's a womanizer then Jesse's a charmer. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." She turns towards him. "You don't have to wait. I can meet you on the bus."

He hopes he keeps the discomfort out of his smile. "Take your time."

She merely nods and Finn stuffs his hands in his pockets and watches as Jesse leads her down the aisle. Not knowing what to do but not wanting to be caught just staring at them, he turns so he can lean against one of the seats and watches his feet kick at the ground.

Trying not to be obvious, he steals glances at them from the corner of his eye. From here he can tell Jesse is being all charming and awesome with his stupid perfect smile, and curly hair, and even Finn noticed how blue his eyes are. Damn, he should have kissed her.

Jesse's finished whatever suave thing he must have said when Rachel's eyes flickers towards him and it's only then that Finn realizes that he's fully turned his head to look at them. _Crap!_ He snaps his head forward but it's not even a second before he goes back to watching them from the corner of his eye. He tenses when she lays a hand on his arm and suddenly Finn wants to be anywhere else. But then the smile drops from Jesse's face, and Rachel looks apologetic as she says a few soft things, and then she's walking away.

Finn blinks. Wait, what just happened? He pushes off the seat as he waits for her, pretty sure he looks even more confused than usual. And Rachel's actually one of the girls he understands pretty well, maybe right behind his mother. Sure, she's really passionate and he can't always keep up with what she's saying but he gets her.

Except he's pretty darn sure she just turned down Jesse. And even if he doesn't show it, it feels like Christmas and the Fourth of July with a good side helping of Thanksgiving inside his chest.

"Hey," she breathes when she makes her way up the aisle towards him. "Ready to go?"

He doesn't care how eager he sounds when he says, "Absolutely." Just places his hand on her lower back as they make their way back to the bus. Part of him is worried if they stay too long she might change her mind.

* * *

><p>"That Jesse kid sure seemed to like you."<p>

"He did make me feel welcome."

"It was more than that. He was into you."

"Well... yes. But I made it quite clear to him that nothing would happen between us."

"Why not?"

"I'm focusing on my career. I allowed myself to get far too distracted at the beginning of this year. No more boys."

"Oh."

"Oh, except you of course! You don't count. We're friends."

"Yeah. Friends. That's... awesome."

* * *

><p><strong>vii.<strong>

Time to pull out the big grand gesture because this being friends thing is killing him.

_She's_ killing him.

Rachel's really taken being best friends to heart. For months now, Finn's gotten use to a Rachel that's a moment away from jumping him. And now that she's not, he finds himself more speechless than normal around her because she's so... casual. Maybe too casual. Careless touches, and invading of personal bubbles, and is it really possible to be this intimate with a girl without actually, you know... being intimate? Before, he realizes now, she was trying to impress him, constantly put together, and a little wired. Not so much anymore.

It's a Friday night and they planned on a movie marathon. One action flick for every one of her musicals. Bowl of popcorn in hand, he knocks on her door. "Hey, you done changing yet? Popcorn is ready. I can go set up the living room-"

"No, come on in!" she calls through the door. "I was just trying to pick the first movie."

Finn pushes open the door, half wondering if he could pull the arm over the shoulder move on her. Rachel's way smart and would totally know what he was doing so it would be hit or miss and-_Dear God!_

His grip on the bowl loosens and Finn scrambles not to drop the popcorn and keep his tongue from rolling out of his mouth. His eyes soak up the sight of her. When she had excused herself to slip into more comfortable clothes, he didn't think that meant tiny pajama shorts and tank top. And it's so cute and simple that Finn doesn't understand why it's so damn hot. Because he remembers vividly her other attempts of slipping into an outfit to seduce him and this is normal and innocent. Maybe he has a girl next door kink. Her hair is up in a messy bun and he can see the curve of her neck and all he _really, really_ wants to do is kiss the exposed skin from her shoulder up to that spot behind her ear.

She turns from where she's standing in front of her bookcase to look at him over her shoulder. "Finn?"

His eyes snap to hers and he tries to casually yet strategically position the popcorn in front of him. "Hmm?"

She waves a few cases in the air. "Moulin Rouge? Sweeney Todd? Rent?"

"Uh," he blinks, trying to focus. "How about the first one? I don't think you've shown me that one yet."

She's a whirlwind of motion after that. Telling him how he might really like the movie since it uses popular music for the most part. And before Finn knows it, he's in the dim living room, plopped down on the couch, with the beginning of a movie flickering in front of him. Somehow he manages to concentrate.

Thirty minutes later though, once Rachel's had her fill of popcorn - more than him actually, she can really pack it - she curls up on the couch next to him. Body pressing up against his arm as her smaller limbs wraps around his, practically hugging his arm to her chest, and she rests her head on his shoulder with a sigh. He thinks it's cause the Obi-Wan Kenobi dude just planted one hell of a kiss on the girl but it's not like he's actually paying attention to the movie anymore.

_Mailman, mailman, mailman, mailman._

He reaches for one of the throw pillows to rest on his lap.

* * *

><p>"So what did you think?"<p>

"I, uh, I think I have to watch it again."

"You didn't like it?"

"No, no. It was like super fast, and all this stuff was going on, and I was having hard time keeping up and... other things."

"Moulin Rouge is a good candidate for rewatch. Baz Lurhmann's frantic cutting does distract in way from what's going on but that can also be seen as-"

"Rach."

"Did I do it again?"

"Kind of. Let's just watch the movie again."

* * *

><p><strong>viii.<strong>

For like the hundredth time that night, Rachel's phone buzzes and Finn resists the urge to faceplant into his open textbook. Okay maybe one hundred is just Rachel's dramatic ways rubbing off on him but Finn can't help it. He's actually _trying_ to study and he thinks he was actually making progress on solving this stupid math problem by himself without asking for Rachel's help but then that damn phone had to go and buzz. _Again_.

"_Who_ even is that?" he grumbles and tosses a glare at the offending object on her desk for good measure.

Picking up her phone, Rachel only takes a small glance at the screen before answering and shrugs nonchalantly. "No one important."

But then, he notices, she places her phone off to the side. Away from him. His eyes narrow slightly as he studies her. She seems casual enough. Her face is already buried back into her own textbook. Still. He can't help the niggling feeling in the back of his mind.

Five minutes later, her phone buzzes again. This time she bothers to respond. It's quick and short and her lips are slightly pursed in annoyance the whole time. Trying a new think before he blurts method, Finn bites his tongue.

Another text message comes and _ah, screw it._ He can't help himself anymore. "Seriously, Rachel. Who is that?"

"A very persistent person."

Well, he can be persistent too. And unlike the phone, she can't just ignore him. Okay, she could actually but that would just be mean and Rachel's like super nice to a default. Usually. She's a little more ruthless when it comes to the stage. Then she's kind of scary and he seriously doesn't want to get on her bad side then. And whoa he's off track again. He really needs to work on his focus like Rachel suggested.

"C'mon, Rach. Just tell me. Don't leave me hanging."

She sighs but it's not one of her showy overdramatic ones. It's kind of quiet and soft like she's tired and doesn't really want to talk about it. But she looks him in the eye and answers anyways. "It's Jesse."

Instantly, Finn feels his hackles rise. What the hell is curly haired punks problem? "Is he bothering you, Rachel? Cause I'll kick his ass. You just tell me and I'll make sure he leaves you alone." And he totally would. He knew that guy was a jackass.

Her lips twitch and he doesn't know what's exactly funny about this situation. But her voice is tinged with laughter and it helps calm him down a little. "That won't be necessary, Finn. I have it under control."

"Are you sure?" he asks reluctantly. He just needs to make sure. It's not just about finding an excuse to possibly punch Mr. Awesome in the face and make his face less awesome. _It's not._

She touches his hand lightly and with a gleam in her eye, insists, "_Yes."_

"Fine," he grumbles, not caring how sulky he sounds.

When her phone vibrates yet again, Rachel swiftly picks it up and turns her phone off but it's not like he can concentrate on his math homework anymore. The instant anger and annoyance at Jesse has settled into something more like a quiet panic that's beating insistently with every heartbeat against his chest. Finn realizes he doesn't know how much longer he can do this with Rachel. And it's not just a matter of being frustrating as hell anymore. There's other guys out there circling Rachel. Maybe it won't be St. Jackass and even with a school filled with asshats, there's got to be somebody besides himself that looks at Rachel and sees how amazing she is. And he's petrified at the idea that maybe one day she'll look back.

He can't just sit back and do nothing anymore.

* * *

><p>"Hey, do you like, uh, wanna catch a movie Friday night?"<p>

"That sounds fantastic, Finn."

"And maybe we could do di-"

"Oh! Do you think I could invite Kurt along? He'll probably want to invite Mercedes as well but that shouldn't be a problem. It can be an exercise in group bonding."

"Uh, Rachel, actually-"

"Recently, Kurt and I have been getting along quite nicely. I always thought we had the potential to be great friends and lately he's been quite receptive to it."

"Oh, really? Well, um, yeah, that's great then, Rach."

"Oh, Finn, Friday is going to be so much fun! We should do it more often."

"Believe me, I'm trying."


End file.
